Man knocked from bicycle remains in hospital with serious injuries

LAS CRUCES >> A man remained hospitalized Thursday as police searched for the driver who knocked him off his bicycle, leaving him seriously injured beside Valley Drive late Wednesday night.

Las Cruces Police have yet to release the name of the 57-year-old victim. LCPD described his wounds -- head injuries according to scanner traffic -- as possibly life threatening. Thursday afternoon, LCPD spokesman Dan Trujillo said the man was in critical condition at University Medical Center of El Paso.

Las Cruces Crime Stoppers is offering a $1,000 reward for information that helps identify the driver involved in the apparent hit-and-run crash, which happened about 8:40 p.m. near McCoy's Building Supply, just north of Boutz Road.

Investigators spent Wednesday night and Thursday scouring the area for the driver of a red, full-size GMC or Chevrolet pickup that reportedly hit the man.

The truck, which may have an extended cab or four doors, is believed to have damage on its front end, LCPD reported

An off-duty police officer saw the truck driving southbound on Valley Drive shortly before 9 p.m., according to an LCPD incident report. As the truck turned south onto Main Street, the report states, the officer noticed sparks and "loud noises" from beneath the vehicle.

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The officer soon realized a bike was wedged under the truck, and remembered seeing a cyclist on a similar bike moments earlier, according to the report. Trujillo noted the man was not wearing reflective material.

Eventually, the officer went south on Main Street and saw the dislodged bike near the Interstate 10 overpass.

That's where the truck was last seen.

LCPD followed several leads Thursday, including one tip via the social media website Facebook. None resulted in arrests.

Wednesday night's thunderstorms did not allow emergency responders to airlift the cyclist to El Paso immediately, so he was transported to Memorial Medical Center. Later, Trujillo said, an ambulance drove the man to University Medical Center of El Paso.

More than 48,000 cyclists were injured in car crashes in 2011, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Department of Transportation. More than 600 have been killed in such crashes every year between 2002 and 2011.

The most recent serious bicycle-car crash in Las Cruces happened in 2010, Trujillo said. Ricardo Duarte died after being hit by a minivan as he crossed Valley Drive that October. The driver and two other women were later convicted on related felonies because they did not report the crash or help Duarte.

Red light cameras helped police find the minivan in that incident. But there are no such cameras operating in the area of the crash or where the red truck was later seen, Trujillo said.